When King rules and Dhurandhar roars: PVR INOX bets on Bollywood to outdo past highs

Shah Rukh Khan's King set to release in 2026.

• PVR INOX expects a box office upcycle with major releases in 2026 and 2027
• Footfalls surpassed pre-Covid levels; occupancy rates still below pre-pandemic
• PVR INOX targets net debt-free status by March 2026 after strong performance.

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The whistles are expected to get louder at the box office with a release slate loaded with high-profile titles including Shah Rukh Khan’s King and Ranveer Singh's Dhurandhar.

Multiplex player PVR INOX believes the box office is entering a new upcycle, driven by scale and star power.

Box-office boom

"The line-up of movies are very strong. After Dhurandhar and Toxic releasing in the March quarter, we have many big releases starting April with Salman Khan's film Battle of Galwan then there is Ramayan, Shah Rukh's King, Kartik Aryan's Naagzilla, Gabru with Sunny Deol, Akshay Kumar's Welcome to Jungle, Bhoot Bangla, Dhrishyam 3. There is no dearth of big films," Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, Executive Director, PVR INOX, told Moneycontrol.

Despite being a weak period, Bijli expects the March quarter to continue the Q3 momentum with films like Dhurandhar and Toxic. "On March 19, we expect a similar kind of euphoria we saw when the first instalment of Dhurandhar. We are hoping that it translates into good admissions."

Bijli also highlighted footfalls going above pre-Covid levels for the first time this year.

In the nine months of FY26, footfalls were up 11.8 percent to 11.9 crore while in Q3 it was up by 8.6 percent at 4.05 crore.

"Our best years are ahead of us. We have not yet seen our best years post-Covid. Just looking at the release slate, 2026 and 2027 are looking very strong. The kind of content mix we have in Hollywood, Hindi and regional cinema is so strong that we would stick our neck out and say that 2026, 2027 would surpass what we have seen in previous years," said Kamal Gianchandani, CEO PVR Pictures.

Post-Covid recovery

He added that post-Covid there were a lot of structural changes, consumption pattern changes, the content supply went through its own share of disruption because a lot of films were travelling straight to streamers.

"Because the consumer taste had changed, producers also took some time to adjust their filmmaking. Now, all of those factors have fallen into place. The content cycle is well oiled and is working in a very synchronised manner like the way it did in pre-Covid period. Films are very well spaced out. There are a lot of wide releases. And not just the bigger films are working but mid-sized, smaller films are also succeeding. The content cycle is in shape and one should expect sustenance in terms of occupancies," he said.

But occupancy still remains below pre-Covid level at 28.5 percent in Q3 FY26 and 26.6 percent in nine months of FY26.

Gianchandani added that last year (2025) there were no big releases from Khans and Kapoors except Aamir Khan's Sitaare Zameen Par. There was no Shah Rukh Khan or Ranbir Kapoor release. But in 2026, we have some of the biggest titles from the Hindi film industry and we feel that there is no reason for us to believe that the occupancy levels will be lower than what we have today."

There is a great mix of big budget, big star driven films and mid-level films which are more content driven as well as smaller films which continue to surprise at the box office, he said.

"Release slate is well supported by regional cinema and not just Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, but also in languages which are up and coming like Gujarati films. A lot of action is happening on the Bengali front as well," Gianchandani said.

He added that Hollywood is finally getting its act together in terms of films which go wide. "All studios including Paramount and Universal have been talking about increasing the number of wider releases in their slate. They are also talking about increasing their overall slate. When you look at the quality of films getting better, quantity going up, you feel confident that the next year would be much more buoyant as compared to this year."

The Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) margins at 18 percent are when occupancy levels are lower, Gianchandani said, adding that the return on capital employed is improving. "The trajectory of occupancy is upwards. The kind of growth we are seeing for next financial year and this calendar year, it is much bigger than what we saw last year."

PVR INOX is expected to be net debt free by March 31, 2026. Net debt fell to Rs 365.2 crore in Q3 FY26.

In addition, the cash proceeds of Rs 226.8 crore from the sale of Zea Maize that sold premium popcorn brand 4700 BC in January 2026 will further reduce the net debt, the company said in its Q3 FY26 earnings presentation.

Peak box office

While the multiplex chain is expecting more box office boom in the coming years, it is 2025 that set the stage.

Last calendar year, box office went up 32 percent compared to pre-pandemic business. The year saw the highest number of Rs 100 crore films at 37, up 76 percent from 21 in 2024. The share of Rs 100-200 crore films was higher last year resulting in a more balanced box office business. The share of Rs 100-200 crore film stood at 27 percent up from 14 percent last year. The share of Rs 200-500 crore film fell to 15 percent from 21 percent.

Bollywood had a breakout year with Rs 5,504 crore business and Hindi films recording highest ever collections.

And with a steady flow of releases, Hollywood in 2025 had its second best year ever in India. Box office was up 49 percent to Rs 1403 crore.

Regional also delivered the highest box office ever at Rs 6,488 crore. Malayalam crossed Rs 1,000 crore, second time in a row. Kannada and Gujarati films industry saw strong growth with box office of Rs 528 crore and Rs 242 crore respectively.